Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice

Sugar and spice and everything nice.  That's what little girls are made of.  It is time for a new House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog and the new challenge is hosted by our House Mouse team member Lori who is going to be a new Grandma very soon, so her challenge is to create something pink and girlie in celebration of her new grand daughter. 

For my pink and girlie baby card I used the House Mouse stamp titled "Baby Shoes".  I colored with copic markers and used foam tape to raise the image.  For more dimension and texture I used my Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder and some lovely pink flowers.

Card Recipe:
Stamp: Stampabilities Baby Shoes # HMGR1002
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black and copic markers
Cardstock:  Stampin' Up!
Accessories:  Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, Pink liquid pearls, Nestabilities oval and scalloped oval dies, Martha Stewart eyelet border punch, and leaves punch, paper flowers and pink and white dot grosgrain ribbon.

Be sure to hop on over to the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog to see all of the lovely samples by our fabulous design team and be inspired to join in the fun for some fabulous prizes.  And remember, if you post your card in galleries be sure to use HMFMC114 so we can easily find your work and leave you some love.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer

Doggie Diva

It's Oscar Day and how many Doggie Divas do you suppose we'll see walking the red carpet today?  Can't you just picture Angelina or Paris or Kim walking a pocket pooch all glitzed up just like this?

I had so much fun with this stamp which is made by Rubber Romance.  I stamped the image on watercolor paper and did a bit of watercoloring on the image and then added pears, glitter and crystals.  There is a lot of glamour and glitz on this card that may not show up in the photo.

Card recipe:
Stamps: Rubber Romance
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black and clear embossing powder
Paper:  Watercolor paper, Stampin' Up! Yellow and Pink cardstock and October Afternoon designer paper.
Embellishments: EK Success paw border punch, Martha Stewart Pearls, Crystals and Stickles Diamond glitter glue.

Will you be watching the awards tonight? I sure will and I'm sure we'll see some Divas strut their stuff on the red carpet too.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer

BONE Appétit

I've been baking for the Mister all week: loaves of bread, cookies, cake.  Yesterday, I decided my pups needed a homemade treat too, so I baked them these homemade dog treats: Pumpkin - Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits.  They are VERY easy to make, fast to whip up and they smell really yummy while baking.  So good, in fact, that The Mister took a taste of one and reported that they weren't bad!  He said to him it was sort of like a whole wheat hamburger bun.  *smiles*

The ingredients are simple:  canned pumpkin, peanut butter, eggs, cinnamon and whole wheat flour.

Mix the ingredients then roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut with your favorite cookie or biscuit cutter.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes.  These biscuits do not rise or spread out so you can line them up close together on the baking sheet without worry of them combining together.

Want to make some for your furry friends?  Here's my recipe.
Pumpkin - Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C)
2.) In your mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients and mix until the dough holds together in a ball and all of the flour is combined. The dough shouldn't be too sticky.
3.) Roll the dough on a floured surface 1/2 inch thick. These biscuits do not rise so you don't want to roll too thin. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut the biscuits into shapes or cut with a butter knife into squares. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Since the biscuits do not rise you can place them close together on the baking sheet.
4.) Bake in preheated oven until hard - for about 40 minutes. Makes about 25 bones that are approximately 2 inches.

BONE Appétit

And are they good?  Well, my three Newfoundland dogs each gave them a 4 paws up rating. This is the treat they got when they came inside from playing in the snow yesterday and just so you know how hard they played, I have a little video of them to share with you:

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer

Make wishes come true: an Irish blessing/wish

"May your blessings outnumber
the Shamrocks that grow.
And may trouble avoid you
wherever you go."

If you would like to participate in the current House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge Blog challenge #113 there is still one more week to create a card using the theme May wishes come true.   I decided for my second theme challenge card to use an Irish blessing and my sentiment is my wish for this card's recipient.

I cut out extra clover and spread them around the card hoping to achieve a three dimensional look to the mouse's "Shamrocks."

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  House Mouse stamp by Stampabilities titled "O Lucky Day"
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, image colored with a combination of Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils.
Designer Paper:  K & Company Tim Coffey Mat Pad and Stampin' Up! Cardstock
Embellishments:  Lavender pears, Martha Stewart white pearl brad, Martha Stewart trellis border punch, machine stitching, sheer lavender ribbon, pop dots and foam tape, and Sakura sparkle gelly roll pen.

Be sure to check out all of the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog design team's lovely Make a Wish themed cards as well as add yours to the link.  We'd love to see it.

And on a final note about House Mouse stamps.  Did you know that you can also post your cards at the official House Mouse designs blog too?  Yes you can and they'd love to see your creations and post them in their "Hand Made Designs by Me" second of their website.  And of course you can shop there too for House Mouse stamps.  Just look for the HMD by me photo on my sidebar and click it or go directly to the site HERE.

Until next time,
Mousie cheers!
Jennifer

Make a wish

It's Monday and that means it is time for a new House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog challenge!  The new challenge theme is "Make a Wish!"  I decided it would be fun to use this House Mouse stamp titled "slow pokes."  But more about the new challenge in just a moment. 

What a fabulous turnout we've had for the first House Mouse and Friends blog hop for 2012!  The submissions have exceptionally wonderful and everyone who's visited my blog and left a comment are in the draw for this fun blog candy:

So without further delay, I used random number thingy and it drew Erin's number.  Erin, who's blog and entry is posted at her site Blu Birdie of Happiness is the winner of my blog candy.  Erin, please email me with your mailing address as soon as possible and I'll mail your candy off to you.  Congratulations!

And now for the new theme challenge: Make a wish. Use any House Mouse and Friends stamp (House Mouse, Gruffies or Happy Hopper) and create a card around the "wish" theme.

These are the details for my card:
Card Recipe:
Stamp: "Slow Pokes" from Stampabilities
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black. Image colored with Copic Markers and Prisma Color Pencils
Designer Papers: Martha Stewart
Embellishemnts: Nestibilities label die, Lavender crystals and Antique Glass Finish Liquid Embossing from All Night Media on the turtle's shell.

Be sure to check out the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog for the winner's announcement for the sponsored prizes for the blog hop. Thank you so much for participating in the blog hop and we'll look forward to seeing your beautiful cards using the "WISH" theme.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer

Alexis' "Princess Dress"

Last week our grand-girl Alexis turned three years old.  Alexis loves the idea of princesses and tieras and flowing gowns.  I wanted to make a special dress for her birthday that she could spin and whirl around in and feel like a princess.  I think I succeeded!  Alexis wanted to put her new dress on right away and she danced and spun around and performed what she called "a Princess Dance" in her new princess dress.

The pattern is from Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops.  This particular pattern, called Annikka's Dress" came beautifully packaged and I chose to purchase it as a kit which included the pattern, instruction book, gorgeous fabrics, buttons and ribbon.

The back closure of the dress is with three little buttons on the back yolk.

Each sleeve cap, cuff and the over and underskirts are attached with finger pleating.

I'm pleased to say Alexis loved her new dress and the big, happy smile and princess dance she performed was the BEST expression of happiness I could receive.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer

From plain and simple to elegant and ornate

About 14 or 15 years ago a friend of mine who had just returned from a trip to Allahabad, India surprised me by bringing me beautiful silk fabrics yardages, trims, beads and ribbons.  Oh such elegant and wonderful findings and a gift that I knew had to be made into something for a very special occasion and garment.  I carefully preserved and kept it all until I knew for certain what I wanted to make.

Skip ahead many years to this past week.  On Sunday afternoon I was playing my cello in a recital and I wanted something pretty to wear that was a bit different than what I usually perform in.  I remembered the beautiful fabric from India and set about deciding how to fashion it into something that was easy for me to play my cello (needs to be a garment with freedom to move for my bowing arm).  I didn't have enough fabric for a long dress but there was just enough for a plain shell top with long sleeves.  And this is what I came up with:

The top is very simple and plain pattern.  Actually, it is almost boxy with no real eye interest on its own plain design.  PERFECT!  I wanted the rich gold threads, shiney silk, metal baubles, buttons and beads and elegant golden ribbon to to be the center of attention.  And the beauty of such a simple pattern is that it took only an afternoon to sew together.  The careful placement of the ribbons and baubles required some slower and more precise stitching, but all in all it was a very quick to sew up.

I had plenty of ribbon trim and decided that double rows looked beautiful with a brass "bead" or bauble hanging from four points on the end of the sleeve. 

OK ladies, as we age, the neckline design is something we tend to worry about more than men have too.  I thought making a square neckline on my blouse was more flattering than a V-neck or a boat neckline so I went with this and I'm so glad I did.  And at the risk of over embellishments, I just had to add three more baubles to the neckline as well.

My recital went off quite well and it was a fun afternoon of music followed by a lovely dinner "afterparty" and I felt quite elegant in my new top. 

I have two more pieces of silk that my friend brought back.  One is a lovely purple color and the other is turquoise.  Oh what fun it will be deciding what to make with them.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Jennifer